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Sunday, 14 June 2015

Smoking may lead to cataract in elderly

In a new study, researchers have found new evidence that
smoking may also increase the risk of age-related cataract, which is the
leading cause of blindness and vision loss in the world.

The new findings are the result of a meta-analysis
conducted by a team of researchers from China.

“Although cataracts can be removed surgically to restore
sight, many people remain blind from cataracts due to inadequate surgical
services and high surgery expenses,” author Juan Ye, MD from Zhejiang
University in China said.

“Identifying modifiable risk factors for cataracts may
help establish preventive measures and reduce the financial as well as clinical
burden caused by the disease,” Ye said.

The team performed the analysis using 12 cohorts and
eight case-control studies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North
America, to compare the prevalence of age-related cataract in individuals who
ever smoked cigarettes to those who have never smoked.

Further subgroup analyses were performed based on the
subjects’ status as a past or current smoker and the three subtypes of
age-related cataract.

The results showed that every individual that ever smoked
cigarettes was associated with an increased risk of age-related cataract, with
a higher risk of incidence in current smokers.

In the subgroup analysis, former and current smokers
showed a positive association with two of the subtypes - nuclear cataract, when
the clouding is in the central nucleus of the eye, and subscapular cataract,
when the clouding is in the rear of the lens capsule.

The analysis found no association between smoking and
cortical cataract, in which the cloudiness affects the cortex of the lens.

While the overall analysis suggests that smoking
cigarettes may increase the risk of age-related cataracts, the researchers
point out that further effort should be made to clarify the underlying
mechanisms.

“Our analysis shows that association between smoking and
the risk of age-related cataract differ by subtypes, suggesting that
pathophysiologic processes may differ in the different cataract types,” Ye
added.

The study has been published in Investigative
Ophthalmology and Visual Science.